STANDARD
WARNING: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to
individuals, living or dead, is pure coincidence. Do not read
this story if you are offended by man-to-man romance or sex. Do
not read if you are underage according to the laws in the
country, state/province, county, city/town/village or township
where you live. There is sex between males. You have been warned!

Copyright 2004 by
Nick Archer. Permission is granted to Nifty Archives to post one
copy. No part may be copied, reproduced, republished, or reposted
on another website without written permission from the author.

Thicker
Than Water

By Nick Archer

Chapter
14

Tim was flat on his
back on their bed. They were finally home from the funeral.

"Youre
sure you want to do this?" Matt asked.

Tims face
registered grim determination. "Yes."

Matt placed his hand
on Tims chest. Beneath his fingertips was the pulse of life
beating strongly; confidently. "If you dont want to do
this "

"I do. I want
to do it."

"Thank
you," Matt kissed Tim.

"No, thank you,
Matt. Youre the one who did all the work. Youre the
one who came up with the idea."

What Matt had done
was very simple, really.

When Matt and Tim
returned earlier that Sunday afternoon, Marty took Matt aside in
the master bedroom and told him about the boys weekend
shenanigans.

"I feel like a
failure," Marty concluded with a sniffle.

Matt engulfed his
best friend in a hug. "Why, Marty?"

"Because all
this time I thought they liked me. I thought they would behave
for me because they respected me."

"Im so
sorry, Marty. But, you know, I think you have it all wrong. They
love you a great deal."

"They have a
funny way of showing it," Marty sniffled. He raised his
red-rimmed eyes to Matt. "How do you know they love
me?"

What Matt did, once
Marty left and he and Tim unpacked their bags, was to go directly
downstairs to the computer. There, he typed out a behavioral
contract for Brian. He duplicated the document and changed the
names for Jake. He repeated the process again for Tommy, but
amended the wording to lessen the punishments slightly.

He printed out the
three pages and showed them to Tim. Thats when Tim got the
idea that he should be the one to present their punishment.

"Youre
always saying that I should take more responsibility for
disciplining them, and that youre tired of being the hard
ass when it comes to parenting."

"If youre
sure, Tim ."

Tim took Matts
hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Im sure."

They gathered the
boys around the dining room table. With hangdog expressions as if
they were about to be force fed Brussels sprouts, they plopped in
the chairs.

"Guys,"
Tim began without preamble, "I have to let you know Im
deeply disappointed." They shifted uncomfortably in their
chairs, fully expecting Matt to launch into a tirade.

"You know we
love you, but your behavior over the weekend was completely
unacceptable. We expected you to act like young men and instead
you acted like brats. Whats more troubling to me is that
Marty is Matts friend and he was a guest in this house for
the weekend."

He paused to let his
words sink in. The boys facial expressions reported that
they expected the worst. "Weve always been very
careful around your friends. Isnt that true?"

"Yeah,"
they muttered.

"So,
thats why its very upsetting to us to see how you
treat one of our friends. Can you see how unfair that is?"

A long,
uncomfortable silence followed. Matt was tempted to jump in, but
allowed Tim to continue running the show. He seemed to be doing a
good job. Tim let the silence grow to add to their discomfort.
That was a basic difference in their parenting styles. Matt would
have jumped in to fill the void of silence. Tim was perfectly
comfortable allowing them to stew in their own juices.

Finally, in a calm,
clear voice, Tim addressed the boys. "How do you think we
should handle this?"

"Youre
going to ground us," Brian stated with certainty.

"Yup, for three
weeks, except for Tommy, whos grounded for two."

Jake and Brian
started to protest. "But he " "Thats
not fair!"

Tim remained placid.
"Life isnt fair. Better learn to deal with it. I
wasnt here to see what you did, but from what Marty told
me, Tommy did less to cause him grief than you two. The first
week for all of you is iron grounded. What that means is, no TV,
no phone, no computer, no video games, and of course, no friends
over. Brian, Ill hold onto your cell phone. If your
behavior is OK then you may have some of those privileges back.
Also, that first week, you come straight home from school. Except
for CCD on Monday, there will be no extracurricular
activities."

"But, I have
speech team practice."

"And I have
wrestling."

Matt shrugged.
"Youll just have to miss it. If your teacher has a
problem with it, he or she can call me."

Jake crossed his
arms angrily. "Man!"

"Anything
else?" Tim asked.

"I guess we
should pay Marty for the pizzas," Brian mumbled.

"Good point.
And you will. Im suspending your allowances until the
pizzas are paid in full."

"But I
didnt have anything to do with that!" Tommy protested.
"That was all Brian and Jake."

"Maybe not, but
you could have stopped them."

"How?"
Tommy demanded.

"You could have
at least said, Hey, I dont think this is
right."

"This is so
unfair!"

"Sorry, Tommy.
Anything else?"

The trio of boys sat
sullen and angry and refused to look at the adults directly.

Finally, Brian piped
up. "Homecoming is October 7th. I was planning on
going."

"Me, too."
Jake chimed in.

Matt raised an
eyebrow. A significant look passed between Matt and Tim.
Matts expression said Should I jump in? Tim nodded
ever so slightly. "And who were you planning on
taking?"

"I see."
Matt affixed Brian, then Jake with a steady gaze. They were lying
and Matt knew it, but he was going to give them just enough rope
to hang themselves. "I certainly dont want to
disappoint Pam or Allegra. I mean, its not fair to deprive
them of going to Homecoming just because youre in trouble,
is it?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This is a
difficult situation. What are we going to do about it?"

"We could tell
them the truth."

"An excellent
idea," Matt approved. "The truth is always the best way
to go. Why dont you call them right now?"

"We can explain
it to them at school tomorrow," Jake replied, cool as a
cucumber.

"Dont you
think its only fair that you let them know as soon as
possible? They could possibly get another date for the
dance."

Matt was never
intentionally cruel, but there was an important lesson that the
boys needed to learn, and if there was ever a teachable moment,
this was it. Both men were fully aware that Brian and Jake had
added lying to their list of misdeeds. Matt was playing it cool
and waited patiently. He enjoyed seeing them squirm.

"I thought we
couldnt use the phone," Jake said in an insolent tone.

"Well
make an exception. I like Pam and Allegra and I dont want
to see their feelings hurt."

Brian and Jake
exchanged looks. They had attempted to conceal their mutual
glance, but the adults picked up on it nonetheless.

Jake jumped out of
his chair and picked up the phone. "Whats Pams
number?" he asked Brian.

"Pam?"
Matt asked calmly. "I thought you were taking Allegra."

With a loud sigh of
resignation, Jake returned the phone to the wall unit.

"Just what I
thought," Matt rumbled through his gritted teeth. "Now,
shall we discuss what were going to do about your
lies?"

Later that night,
Matt and Tim were cuddled in front of the TV. Matt was lengthwise
on the couch with Tim between his legs. Tims back rested
against Matts chest. Tim, who had possession of the remote,
flipped channels restlessly.

"Theres
nothing on tonight," Tim complained.

"Will you find
something and settle?" Matt snapped.

"Sorry."
After tuning in A&E, he tossed the remote on the coffee table
as if he had just taken a casserole out of the oven without an
oven mitt.

"I didnt
mean to snap at you, babe." Matt sighed.

"They hate us,
dont they?"

"Probably, but
theyll get over it. They always do." He kissed
Tims temple. "You did a good job earlier."

"So did you. I
was so impressed when you called Jakes bluff."

"It was easy.
He hung himself and Brian in the process."

"You know,
were going to be grounded as well."

"What do you
mean?"

"One of us has
to be here to supervise. Theyll try anything when
were not here."

Matt hadnt
considered this. "Youre right. And if we have to go
anywhere, all the rest will have to go along with."

"Theyre
going to complain about that, too."

"Im sure
they will. But just remember; they can say anything they want as
long as they do what we tell them to do. We cant give them
an inch or theyll think that theyve won and they can
get away with anything. Im sure it will be an inconvenience
for us."

"I kinda feel
sorry for Tommy."

Me, too, a little. I
know Jake is the main instigator. And I know Brian probably tried
to talk them out of whatever they were doing. Brian is the
logical one."

"What do you
think of Robb?"

Matt lowered his
voice. "I cant say I like him much. Hes too
arrogant and conceited. But its Brians choice and
hes the one who has to deal with Robb. I do have to say
that Im a little surprised at Brian. Brians so
down-to-earth and he usually doesnt hang with the
socialites."

"What about
Logan?"

"I like Logan.
Theres something about him, though."

"You mean
hes hiding something?"

"Could be.
Im not sure. Maybe we just dont know the whole story.
In any event, I think hes too good for Jake."

"Matthew! What
a thing to say!"

Matt shrugged.
"Well, its true. I hate the way Jakes treating
Mike. Mike is such a sweet kid and cute as a button. Its
like Jake needs a stable of boyfriends - and girlfriends - to
validate his ego. And Im not sure I know what to do about
that. Its like he has a hole inside him that hes
trying to fill."

Tim snickered
lewdly. "Ill just bet hes trying to get his hole
filled."

Brians face
wrinkled in concentration as he dug through his locker at Rich
East after sixth period. Several things were on his mind.

He and his brothers
were completing the first week of their grounded status. This was
the toughest week. They could not use the phone, the computer, or
watch TV and they had to come directly home from school. All
their extracurricular activities had been suspended.

Brian had to admit
there were some advantages. He was caught up on his homework,
which was a first. Brian took mostly accelerated classes in which
each individual teacher assigned homework as if theirs was the
only class.

He had also done an
extra credit paper for biology and Matt allowed him to use the
computer to type it up. Matt steadfastly refused to allow Brian
to use the Internet to research it; he said it was just too
tempting. And Matt kept an eye on him the entire time he typed.
As he typed the paper, occasionally asking Matt how to format
something, Matt sorted laundry in the adjacent utility room.

That had bothered
Brian. He realized Matt didnt trust him and that
realization stung. They had always had a good relationship. The
past few days had been tense. Since the previous Sunday the
conversations between the adults and the kids in the Rosato-Dugan
household had been limited to exchanges of factual information.
It was a family Cold War.

Matt and Tim also
had left the TV off because as he overheard Matt tell Tim,
"Its just too much temptation. Besides, its not
very fair." The three boys plunged into their schoolwork and
completed their household chores as if their lives depended on
it. Matt observed that the townhouse was cleaner than the day he
moved in. Matt brought home a bag of strip-cover books for the
boys. Granted, they werent titles that they would normally
read but that didnt matter.

Last night, Brian,
Jake and Tommy had played a game of Monopoly on the dining room
table. It was fun and it certainly diverted their attention for a
few hours. But Brian thought something was missing. Neither Matt
nor Tim played with them. They always had done so in the past.
Brian missed them.

Later Wednesday
night as he attempted to asleep, he understood what was missing.
He missed Tim, but even more so, he missed Matt. He missed
talking to Matt. He missed asking Matt questions because he
always answered honestly and without condescension. He missed the
occasional hug from Matt and the subtle affection. He missed
Matts funny comments.

Sleep eluded him
while he sorted out the events of the past few days. Finally, he
understood what the problem was.

Matt was not only
his parent he was his friend.

It wasnt as if
Matt had set out to create such a relationship. Matt never tried
to ridiculously lower himself to their level. Instead, he had
always treated Brian and his brothers with the utmost respect.
Matt elevated the boys to his level.

Like any other
estranged friendship, it troubled Brian. A certain tension was
relieved when Brian finally understood this. Even though he had
an insight into the cause of his stress and uneasiness, it
didnt offer any practical solutions. He spent a good deal
of Wednesday night he tossing and turning as he devised ways to
get back into Matts good graces.

Voices of
adolescents echoed off the walls as he shoved the rest of his
books in his locker. He cursed Jake for being so slovenly. And
where the hell was Jake anyway? They always met at the locker and
walked together to their last class of the day; PE.

An arm appeared from
behind him. It shoved Introduction To Algebra into the
lower shelf.

"Where were
you?"

"Talking to
Logan."

"Better
hurry."

It only took seconds
for Jake to toss all his books and folders into the locker, much
to Brians chagrin. "Youre such a slob,"
Brian complained.

They raced down the
hall to the main gym; not exactly running but walking at a very
fast pace. They didnt want to earn another tardy.

Students at Rich
East were offered a variety of courses that rotated every three
weeks. There were traditional sports that varied with the
seasons; touch football, soccer, basketball, track, baseball or
softball. In addition, there quite a few non-traditional
activities students could select. These included weight training,
field hockey, social dance, roller-skating. They could play
handball, tennis and racquetball in the village-owned racquet
club across the street from the school. Rich East was one of the
first high schools in the Chicago area to build a rock-climbing
wall.

Seniors were given
first choice and the computer was programmed to give them
priority. Freshmen got whatever was left. So far both Brian and
Jake had gotten everything they had selected.

Both brothers
avoided any activity that was being taught by Jennings. Jake
avoided Mr. Jennings because he seemed to have a personal
vendetta against him.

Brian had a
different reason for avoiding him. True, Jennings was a prick and
a bad teacher. But Brian knew something else about him. He knew
his first name was Gary.

Gary Jennings was
the nature counselor fired from Camp Homewood the summer before
last.

He had never said a
word to Brian and never gave a hint that he recognized the boy.
Still, Brian had caught him several times staring at him and
wondered if he remembered him.

By seventh hour, the
locker room was warm and steamy and redolent with the odor of
male adolescent bodies. Dressing out before class was easy for
Brian; it was the mandatory showers after class that caused him
such grief. It was all he could do not to stare at the parade of
bodies in all different stages of adolescence. He wasnt
attracted to the African American boys with their tightly curled
pubic hair. He was somewhat interested in the Mexican boys and
their fat, uncut, dangling pingas. Brian was most
interested in the other boys of the same race as he.

With a bounce in his
step, and pleased with himself for not sporting wood in the
locker room, he moved to his spot on the attendance line in the
gym. A student leader moved down the line with a clipboard taking
attendance, collecting absence notes for one of the teachers to
sign, and making sure they were all dressed in the required
uniform.

A second student
leader moved down the line distributing Optscan sheets and stubby
little golf pencils from a coffee can.

"All right,
listen up," Coach Lazotte called. He moved to a portable
white board. "Heres the choices for the next three
weeks: Flag football, tennis, handball, roller skating,
volleyball, weight training, beginning swimming, intermediate
swimming and retro dancing. Remember that you can wear sweats if
you choose flag football. It might get cold anytime. Also
remember that you can wear a jacket over your uniform to the
tennis club across the street. Mark your Scantron sheets now and
turn them into Will."

Immediately after he
finished speaking, the boys broke from the attendance line into
cliques to see what their friends were signing up for. Carl,
Logan and Dave gravitated to Jake and Brian. They sat
cross-legged on the chilly wooden gym floor.

"Im
signing up for flag football," Jake announced. Logan flashed
him a look. It was certainly not Logans first choice.

Carl shrugged.
"I prefer to think of it as the path of least
resistance."

"Youll
end up in tennis for sure," Brian added. "The juniors
and seniors will fill retro dance and roller skating first. And
Jennings teaches tennis."

"He may teach
it on paper, but you know as well as I do that Will really
teaches it. Jennings spends all his time in his office,"
Dave reminded them.

"Thats
true," Jake said. "Wonder what he does all day in his
office?"

Brian sighed and
began to blacken the circles on the Scantron sheet for the
classes he wanted. He made certain to blacken each circle as
darkly as he could. "Im signing up for the same
thing," Brian announced. "Ill just take the
chance that therell be something open."

"Im
marking flag football first," Logan announced as he gave
Jake a sour look as if he had just sucked a lemon. "

Jake was about to
make a smart comment, but stopped himself because a student
leader was making the rounds to collect the papers and pencils.

The students lined
up again for cursory calisthenics. The student leaders led the
exercises, as usual, while the teachers chatted on the sidelines
and looked over the completed Scantron sheets.

Brian spotted
Jennings among the cluster of teachers. He was wearing his photo
ID and a gleaming whistle on a lanyard around his neck. He was
also wearing dark sunglasses, which Brian thought odd.

Was Jennings
watching him? He wondered.

After five minutes
of warm-ups, the boys mixed with the girls and headed for various
parts of the gym for their activities.

Jennings had indeed
been watching Brian. At first he wasnt sure it was the same
kid from Camp Homewood. This Brian had a different last name and
he was much bigger.

Then, Gary realized
it was one and the same kid. The boy had matured beautifully. So
what if he was a faggot? Hes gorgeous.

Jennings disappeared
into his tiny office. As a relatively new teacher, he was lucky
to get his own office. None of the other teachers wanted it
because it was tucked away a corner and it didnt have a
window into the locker room.

The fact that his
office was windowless suited Gary just fine. He had no interest
in supervising the horseplay that sometimes broke out in the
locker room during showers.

It also suited him
for another reason.

Gary was very
careful to keep the outer door to his office locked. He unlocked
it, stepped inside, and pushed the door shut behind him. He
pulled off his dark sunglasses and tossed them on his desk
between a video monitor and his computer.

In one corner of the
tiny office near his desk was a tall, black metal cabinet that he
also kept locked at all times. There were two locks on this
cabinet; one that was built in at the factory and another that
Rick had installed.

The doors swung open
to reveal three new VCRs. It had been easy to obtain the
videocassette recorders and cameras from the PTO. Gary told them
he needed them to tape football practices and games. The PTO had
been more than generous.

The bottom VCR
indicated that the videotape was filled and he pushed the eject
button and slid in a fresh tape.

Rick was very handy
if a bit stupid. During the day Rick worked for the phone company
installing and repairing telephone lines. He had done all the
wiring in the locker room on a Sunday afternoon when no one was
in the building.

Gary made sure the
office door was locked once again.

He pulled his shorts
and jockstrap down to his knees and switched on the TV monitor on
his desk. They should be starting their showers now. He
switched to a view that allowed him to monitor four cameras
simultaneously.

As the naked boys
began filing past the hidden cameras and showering, Gary
increased the rhythm on his cock. The live show burned into his
retinas as he increased the speed of his right hand.

Finally, he released
his load. He mopped us the mess with a paper towel, pulled his
shorts back up and decided he should put in an appearance as a
teacher.

Tomorrow was Friday
and payday, after all.

Thanks for reading,
hope you enjoyed it. As always, your comments and suggestions are
welcome at archerland@hotmail.com Constructive criticism is
welcome, too. And dont forget to visit my website Archerland New chapters are always
posted there earlier than here.